Betting on Boardwalk
by TheNeedsOfMany
Summary: Gold and Belle make a bet over a game of Monopoly. A fluffy Rumbelle one-shot. Complete.


**Betting on Boardwalk**

Mr. Gold held out the game to Belle.

Belle sighed. "Again?"

Gold lifted his chocolate brown eyes up and gazed into hers mournfully. "Please?"

"We just played Monopoly yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before THAT." she protested.

Gold got a look in his eyes that told Belle he was concocting a plan. He snapped his fingers, and a grin slowly crossed his face. "How about we make a deal?"

Belle rolled her eyes and grinned back at him. She didn't mind playing Monopoly with him. She did, however, want him to work for it. "A deal, hm? And what sort of deal would that be?"

Gold pretended to think for a moment, before speaking. "Loser buys ice cream?"

Belle's eyes glazed over at the thought of ice cream. It was all Gold's fault. He had introduced her to it shortly after their reunion, and she was in love with the frosty treat. "Only if you get the mint chocolate chip."

Gold tilted his head to the side slightly. "That indicates that you think I will lose."

Smirking, Belle went to drag out the card table. "And what makes you think you will win?"

Gold sat down the game and helped her open the table's legs. "Because I always win, dearie!"

They dragged the card table over to the sofa and overstuffed chair in the front room. Belle sat in the chair, and Gold took the sofa. He hooked his cane over his knee and opened up the box. "Which piece would you like this time?"

Belle leaned over and studied the pieces. "I think I want to be the hat. In honor of Jefferson." Jefferson was the man who had rescued her from the asylum where Regina had had her locked away. Both Belle and Gold were eternally grateful for bringing them back together.

"Perhaps we should invite him and his daughter over sometime." Gold surprised her by saying. He continued setting up the board.

Belle's face lit up. "I'd love that."

Gold quirked his lips into a slight smile. He hated socializing with other people, but he knew it would make Belle happy. He would go to the ends of the earth for her.

He finished setting up the board and picked the shoe out as his piece to play with. Belle helped deal out the money, but Gold established himself as banker. That was okay with Belle. She needed her full concentration on the game without dealing out money too.

Gold rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He gestured with one hand to the dice. "Your move, dearie."

So the game began. Belle was good, but Gold was better. Centuries of deal-making made him a pro. He was in his element, and his enthusiasm for the game was contagious.

An hour passed. Both were caught up in the thrill of the game. Yet neither had landed on the elusive Boardwalk property. Belle had Park Place, and she knew Gold had his eyes on Boardwalk just as much as she did.

Then she landed on it. Of course, at this point, her assets were stretching thin. She had snatched up several other choice properties in her previous turns in an attempt to keep Gold from dominating the board.

Belle shuffled through her options. She didn't have enough cash money, and she had already mortgaged many of her properties. It didn't look like she was going to be able to buy Boardwalk after all.

Gold caught the glimmer of disappointment in her eyes as she shrugged. "Oh well." she said with a small smile. "That's just how it is."

He could feel twinge of something at the back of his mind. It was his conscience, something he rarely listened to, if he heard it all. He hesitated, then spoke. "Care to make a deal?"

Belle lifted a brow. "A deal?" She was intrigued.

"How about I give you this money-" Gold counted out enough money for Boardwalk plus quite a bit of extra. "For those two properties." He gestured to two minor properties that he didn't have any particular need for.

Belle wrinkled her nose. "That's not really a fair trade for you."

Gold sighed patiently. "So you don't want to accept my offer?"

"No, no!" Belle said quickly. "It is a very generous offer. I want to accept..."

"Then accept it." Gold shoved the Monopoly money her way.

"Thanks." Belle took the money, counted out the money for Boardwalk, and handed that part of the money back to Gold.

He handed her the card. "The deal is struck."

It wasn't long before Belle dominated the game. Gold had given her enough extra money to make a strong comeback. Her stack of money grew, while Gold's stack of money dwindled.

Then it was over, and Belle won. She shook her head in disbelief. She knew Gold had let her win.

"Time for ice cream?" Gold suggested, putting the game away. "I suppose it's my treat."

"No." Belle stopped him. "I'll pay."

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "But our bet-"

"I know. But you let me win."

"I merely changed the odds of the game." He waved his hand and stood up. "You won, as they say, fair and square." He paused. "Of course, if you wish to pay..."

"I do."

"In that case then, bring me back a cone, will you?"


End file.
